Bournemouth: Bournemouth’s Eddie Howe offered little sympathy for under-pressure Sunderland boss David Moyes ahead of the meeting of the two teams in the Premier League on Saturday.
Moyes has come under heavy scrutiny as he searches for his first Premier League win since taking over at Sunderland, who are bottom of the table with two points from their opening 10 games.
“We’re coming up against a very experienced manager, a good set of players and there’s no underestimating coming from us, it’s going to be a tough game,” Howe told reporters on Friday.
“I think sympathy is the wrong word. I think we’re all under pressure to get results, it’s a very demanding job, I am no different, no other manager is different.
“All I can say is week on week, it’s a very volatile and unpredictable job, it’s very difficult.” Meanwhile, Moyes said he was not surprised by reports suggesting his tenure at the Stadium of Light was nearing a swift end following a woeful start to the season.
“I think when you’re at the bottom and you’re losing its going to happen,” Moyes said.
“That’s the world of football management, you expect that. You would expect it, because we’re not winning enough games.”
But referring to reports of his supposed sacking he added on Friday: “I think they were all quashed weren’t they?”
And Moyes is confident he can turn around the club’s fortunes, starting at 10th-placed Bournemouth.
“These are testing times, you have to try and keep doing the right things and keep the players believing and we’re trying to do that,” he said.
“We’re not hiding and we won’t. We want to work hard to engage with the supporters because we need them.
“You always need a run of results whether you’re at the top or the bottom. We will try to do that but we need to get the first one.”
Moyes also British media there was no feeling among his squad that they go into games not expecting to get a result.
“I would hate to think that anyone was expecting to lose. I expect to win. I don’t care who I play, I expect to win and that message is around for every game. I expect them to win by hook or by crook,” Moyes said.
“That’s always been a thing of mine, even though I would like us to win games looking good too. I don’t think I ever lost more than two games at any one time during my time at Everton. I wouldn’t allow it. I made sure it would never happen.
“I sorted that out and that’s part of me, so don’t think I am taking this easy here and smiling about the whole thing.”
